satisfied
Added 11/18/2009
received in time. did not watch yet. But LEo is really a kid in this movie :)
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
PAINFUL to Watch But Truly BRILLIANT !!!!
Added 9/25/2009
Leonardo DiCaprio takes us on a journey into the agonies of a teenager on the worst path possible. This movie descends into the depths of depravity and sadness. DiCaprio, as another reviewer wrote ,amazingly was but 20 years old when he turned in this powerhouse of a performance. Little by little we see the way he gets into this lost soul and makes him so believable and pathetically authentic. One of the best moments is when Dicaprio and the 2 buddies who followed him down into the sewers of human existence see the young man who
was a part of the gang but he stayed clean and persued his dreams as a basketball player. He is up there on the television living a healthy happy life than any of the three others could have shared. The look in Leonardo's eyes says it all, even in his drugged up state there was a miniscule possibility that he could get himself together and return to a decent life. Another wonderful scene was when the actor Ernie Hudson, takes DiCaprio home, seeing himself many years ago in a similar crisis and wanting to do the right thing to help a fallen friend. That was heartwrenching with DiCaprio deprived of heroin having a meltdown while Hudson tried to be a support, ignoring the most disgusting behavoir by Leonardo who looked like a wounded bird just trying to make it through the next 15 minutes. Also as brilliant as DiCaprio is Lorraine Bracco, who we will always of course think of as Tony Soprano's shrink, playing DiCaprio's Mom with love and she too has her own emotional meltdown in that wonderful scene where she is on one side of the door, and he is leaning in across the chain, desperate for a few bucks to feed his habit. She is forced to call the cops on her own out of control son. Of course this movie is based on a real man who found his way back to a happy and healthy and sane existence. How triumphant !!! Mark Wahlberg gave his own gritty and skilled performance of a teenager as lost as DiCaprio. Painful, but well worth watching.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
DiCAPRIO - UNBELIEVABLE PERFORMANCE!!!
Added 9/16/2009
After Jim Carroll passed away this past week, I finally watched this movie. I was totally blown away by Leonardo DiCaprio's performance as Carroll. I was totally riveted to my sofa on this one!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
quick and as stated
Added 9/1/2009
A reality story. Reality about the disease of addiction. Excellent acting and incredible story line. My son watched it during addiction treatment and he suggested it for the family to watch. I am glad we did. It is sad, but true!!!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Excellent, why else would I be buying it?
Added 2/7/2009
I watched this movie many years ago. I knew who Jim Carroll was long before I ever heard of The Basketball Diaries. When I saw the movie I did not even realize that Jim had actually written these diaries. Personally I love reading other peoples diaries or watching them on a movie. It makes me feel good to know that other people out there are just like me. Don't get me wrong I have never been hooked on heroin, but I was once in the "major" partying scene for a very long period in my life. I knew several people who were hooked on heroin. I chose at an early age not to do heroin, partly because it scared me and partly because my best friend told me she would kick my a** if I did (she saw what it did to her two sisters). I was a little surprised at the Amazon review. Maybe the guy is really young because everyone I know who has seen this movie knew who Jim Carroll was, even my sister who is 9 years younger than me and all her friends. Considering that she grew up in the 90's I think that says a lot for Jim Carroll. I am buying this movie because I have two sons, ages 9 and 11 and soon enough they will need a little taste of "the real world". We live in a small community and there is not much "reality" when it comes to the world of drugs. They have their annual drug talk and come home and tell my husband he is using drugs when he drinks a beer with a friend. I am the real "druggie" in the household since I actually smoke cigarettes everyday (God forbid!). This is what this town sees and thinks of drugs and that culture. This movie is perfect for showing what actually happens. Yeah, drugs are a lot of fun. I am admitting the cold hard truth. But everyone has to pay the piper, yeah I guess that is kind of a pun. You stay with the peers and the drug culture, the clubs, the bars, the apartments and yes, even the basketball courts and the drugs will bring you down. I find it amazing that there are actual people in this world who still care enough for other people to work hard to get them out of the drug scene. Most people I know have just had to remove themselves from the scene or they would succumb to it once more, even when they absolutely did not want to. The lure, the wild promise of a great time, probably one of the best times you will have had in a really long time is to much to turn down. So while inside your screaming "NO, NO NO!!!!" your eyes are looking right into the eyes of "the friend" offering whatever it is you have done and are about to do again. I really do not want that life for my boys but I can not be a hippocrite either. Thats why this movie is the best. Plus they can identify with Leonardo DiCaprio, both of them watch Titanic at least 3 times a year! I hope this review helps someone. I hope it helps in whatever way you need it to help.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
satisfied
Added 11/18/2009
received in time. did not watch yet. But LEo is really a kid in this movie :)
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
PAINFUL to Watch But Truly BRILLIANT !!!!
Added 9/25/2009
Leonardo DiCaprio takes us on a journey into the agonies of a teenager on the worst path possible. This movie descends into the depths of depravity and sadness. DiCaprio, as another reviewer wrote ,amazingly was but 20 years old when he turned in this powerhouse of a performance. Little by little we see the way he gets into this lost soul and makes him so believable and pathetically authentic. One of the best moments is when Dicaprio and the 2 buddies who followed him down into the sewers of human existence see the young man who
was a part of the gang but he stayed clean and persued his dreams as a basketball player. He is up there on the television living a healthy happy life than any of the three others could have shared. The look in Leonardo's eyes says it all, even in his drugged up state there was a miniscule possibility that he could get himself together and return to a decent life. Another wonderful scene was when the actor Ernie Hudson, takes DiCaprio home, seeing himself many years ago in a similar crisis and wanting to do the right thing to help a fallen friend. That was heartwrenching with DiCaprio deprived of heroin having a meltdown while Hudson tried to be a support, ignoring the most disgusting behavoir by Leonardo who looked like a wounded bird just trying to make it through the next 15 minutes. Also as brilliant as DiCaprio is Lorraine Bracco, who we will always of course think of as Tony Soprano's shrink, playing DiCaprio's Mom with love and she too has her own emotional meltdown in that wonderful scene where she is on one side of the door, and he is leaning in across the chain, desperate for a few bucks to feed his habit. She is forced to call the cops on her own out of control son. Of course this movie is based on a real man who found his way back to a happy and healthy and sane existence. How triumphant !!! Mark Wahlberg gave his own gritty and skilled performance of a teenager as lost as DiCaprio. Painful, but well worth watching.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
DiCAPRIO - UNBELIEVABLE PERFORMANCE!!!
Added 9/16/2009
After Jim Carroll passed away this past week, I finally watched this movie. I was totally blown away by Leonardo DiCaprio's performance as Carroll. I was totally riveted to my sofa on this one!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
